Shape retaining fiber mattress



Oct. 12, 1937. w. H. WATERS ET AL I SHAPE RETAINING FIBER MATTRESS FiledMay 7, 1935 E 2 Sheets-Sheet l VV'Illiam H. Watena.

Jamb 5. Kern. Y

INVENTORS W ATTORNEYS Oct. 12, 1937.

w. H. WATERS r AL 2,095,375

' SHAPE RETAINING FIBER MATTRESS Filed May 7, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet] 2l/Villiam H.WatEr5.-'

Japub 5. Kern.

INVENTORS ATTORNEYS Patented a. 12, 1937 PATENT OFFICE SHAPE RETAININGFIBER MATTRESS William H. Waters and Jacob S. Kern, Fleetwood, Pa.,assignors to Fleetwcod Craftsmen, Inc., Fleetwood, Pa., a corporation ofPennsylvania Application May '1, 1935, Serial No. 20,182

4 Claims.

This invention is in part a division of our copending application SerNo. 610,636, filed May 11, 1932, and in part a continuation of the same,and relates to an improved mattress, cushion," or

" thelike, of needled fibers of curled hair or other animal'or vegetablefibers, and to the fabrication of the. same into a cohesiveshape-retaining fashioned unit capable of being handled withoutdisintegrating, and preserving its configuration without the usuallyrequired enclosing casing and tufting ties.

Mattresses and thelike of such curled fibers have heretofore been 'madeby stuffing an amount of the fibres into a prepared casing, closing thelatter by seaming,and then patting and :fiuffing the same into desireduniform shape and .tufting with tiecords to more or less secure theenclosed fibers from shifting into uneven and lumpy contour. i

Another known method has been tolfill a casing with one or more layersof needled fiber batting cut from'a relief the latter, and then seamingthe casing and tufting as before; such batten rolls have but a loosecohesion and cutting them into lengths starts their disintegration.

In both the aboveheretofore knownmethods the avoidance of fiber shiftinghas been only partiallysuccessfuLand the renovating of a the mattresshas necessitated a completeremaking operation, as (the cleaning andwashing of the removed fiber contents destroys any unitary andshape-retaining semblance they may have had when secured in theenclosing casing.

Various other efforts to make the fiber con- 35 tents a cohesive unithave heretofore been attempted, including needling-the fiber batting tosheets of woven fabric, or combination with other material; but up tothe time of the present improvements no means have been found forproducing a commercially satisfactory fiber pad or mattress of compactcohesive resilience capable of being handled and renovated as a unitwithout disturbing its formation of retained struc-- 'ture shapeindependent of an enclosing casing or 45 tuftingtiea r T In additiontotheshape-retaining cohesion imparte'd to the fiberby the presentimprovements, varying resilient compactness may be secured in 7 selectedareas subject to more severe use, and 50 further these improvementsprovide for any desired variation in. shape both longitudinally and'transver'sel'y adapted for needs inpillows, cushions, upholstery padsand the like where a desired surface contour is sought.

55 The present improvements and the manner of employing the same in theproduction of shaped fiber mattresses and-the like, will now be morefully described in the following specification in connection with thedrawings accompanying the same and, form ng part thereof, nd he QQVQlfeatures will be particularly set forth in the subjoined claims.

Fig. 1 indicates, in perspective view, a pad of curled fibers made inaccordance with the present invention into a cohesive shape-retainingresilient unit of a determined size and contour.

Fig. 2;,indicates a preliminary step in the making of the pad shown inFig... 1, and indicates in .a perspective View a suitable slatted-bottomform,

with its cover removed, and with temporary side and end walls tofacilitate loosely laying in the form a suitably distributed amount ofcurled fibers. r

Fig. 3' indicates a further step in themaking of the pad shown in Fig.1, and indicates in a perspective view the form of- Fig. 2 with thetemporary side and end wall extensions removed, and thecurled fibersconfined and compressed to a desired resilient compactness beneath aslatted form cover shown inseated and locked position. Fig. 4, is alongitudinal sectional elevation of the closed form shown in Fig. 3,indicating the shape-imparting contour of the inner edges of the slattedcover section.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view of the form shown in Fig, 3. eFig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional elevation similar to Fig. 4, butindicating the slats as extend- :curled .fibers are loosely laid andpiled up to a height sufiicient to produce a desired resilientcompactness when a form cover is. pressed downward thereon and locked inclosedposition, the

interior contour of the form determining the finished contour of themattress, which istransformed into a cohesive shape-retaining unitby athrough-and-through needling of the confined fibers. r

A form for the above purpose is indicated in the drawings, and isshownas a rectangular frame, the sides Ill and ends H-having a heightsufficient to enclose the desired thickness of the mattress, and thebottom [2 and cover l3being formed of slats I4, M; preferably setedgewise and extending transversely from side to side. The bottom 12 isshown as united to the sides l0 and ends H to form an integral rigidframe, and the removable cover l3 is indicated as secured to said,

' frame by hasps: l5. And tofacilitate the laying of the loose curledhair in the frame to a sufficient depth to produce the resilientcompactness desired in the finished mattress, temporary sides 7 10 a andends Harmay'be employed, held inposition by any convenient means, asstrips lb and Hi) shown, and. removed to permit the placing of the coverI3 and pressing the latter upon the piled up fibers until the hasps l5are engaged to lock it in such seated position. Removal of the temporarysides and ends, due tothe nature of the curled. fibers, does not causeany spreading,

and any bulging may be readily pushed back during compression of thecover, or the sides slotted to permit the cover compression beforeremoval of the sides.

The curled hair thus confined in the form is needled as by a machine ofthe nature set forth in our co-pending application Ser. No. 610,636above referred to, such needling being efiected between the spacings ofthe slats I4, l4and preferably extended through the thickness of theconfined fibers and effected in opposing directions as therein setforth.

The needling of the aforesaid machine, acting upon the confined andcompressed fibers, and reversely directed through the top and bottomslats l4, and carried close to the sides and end walls, entwines andinterengages the fibers to Weave them into a secure engagement to form ashape-retaining integral unit of the shape and size determined by theform used.

The inner shape and. contour of the form is determined by the shape ofthe slats I4, I4, and in Figs. 4 and 5, the bottom slats are shown. ashaving a uniform width determining a fiat under surface of the finishedmattress, while the slats of the cover are shown as having a varyingwidth, imparting a shaped contour to the top surface of the finishedmattress, as that indicated in Fig. 1. As indicating that the inventionprovides for any shaping desired, Fig. 6 indicates another mattress orpad produced in a form of the nature described, with its interiorcontour changed by shaping of the slatted top and bottom inwardlydirected edges.

By varying the shape of the inner edges of the slats, and by suitablyshaping the form, any desired size and shape of mattress may be made,for use on a bed, as a pillow, fashioned cushion, or shaped upholsterypad employed to produce overstuffed furniture of any desired shape uponsprings of uniform height.

Also, where wear is likely to cause sunken places in long continued use,extra fibers may be piled up at such places, which when compressed bythe cover will form areas of greater density to withstand the forming ofsuch sunken areas.

The fibers employed may be laid or blown into the form in the amountrequired, piledup in certain areas as stated, and all are confined andcompressed in the form and needled into a shaperetaining mass that willwithstand rough handling and laundering when required without loss ofshape or resilience. The mattress is finished by the aforesaid needlingoperation and there is no necessity of cutting or trimming to size so asto break the long fibers: into short ones not securable by needling. Ifdesired the sides and ends may be subjected to needling to make'a moreperfect edge, but this is not required to maintain its unitary shape. Aprotective casing may also be employed, but is not required to hold thefibers in position, nor are any tufting ties required, but may beemployed if desired.

The mattress or pad thus fully described, and the steps in itsproduction, may of course be modified without departing from theinvention. The form while essentially as shown and described, may bechanged, and while preferable need not be of rectangular outer shape asshown.

And it may at times be desirable to produce two.

separate pads, as for a sectional mattress, or for increased production,confined, compressed and needled while held in one form having suitableseparating panels dividing its inner contour. It is intended to includethe above and other modifications and changes within the spirit of theinvention defined in the following claims.

What we claim is:

1. A compressing form for confining and shaping loosely piled curledfibers to be entwininglyinterengaged by piercing needles into ashape-retaining cohesive structure, comprising solid side and endmembers, a. bottom, and a removable cover adapted tolockingly engage inseated'position by compression of the piled-up fibers, said bottom andcover being formed with spaced slats set in vertical alinement to permitthrough-andthrough passage of the fiber-entwining needles, and saidslats having inwardly directed edges of varying depth adapted to imparta correspondingly shaped compression to the confined fibers.

2. A compressing form for confining and shaping loosely piled curledfibers to be entwiningly interengaged by piercing needles into ashaperetaining cohesive structure, comprising solid side and endmembers, a bottom, and a removable cover adapted to lockingly engage inseated position by compression of the piled-up fibers, said bottom andcover being formed with spaced slats set in vertical alinement to permitthroughand-through passage of the fiber-entwining needles, and saidslats having their outer edges in a common plane and their inner edgesvaryingly projecting to form a surface of irregular contour adapted toimpart a corresponding shape to the confined fiber 3. The process ofmaking a shapewetaining mattress or similar resilient cushion-likearticle from curled hair-like fibers, which consists in piling-up adetermined quantity of the loose curled fibers, materially reducing themass of said piled hair by compression into an enclosing form having anirregular size and shape desired for the finished article, then needlingthe compressed and confined fibers by oppositely directedthrough-and-through piercing passes of hooked needles into a tenaciouslycohering interlaced structure which will maintain the irregular size andshape of the form when re moved therefrom.

4. The process of making a shape-retaining mattress or similar resilientcushion-like article from curled hair-like fibers and having selectedareas thereof of increased wear-resisting density, which consists inunequally distributing a piledup quantity of the loose curled-fiberswith increased thickness in the desired wear-resisting areas, materiallyreducing the mass thereof by compressing said distributed fibers into anenclosing form having the size and shape desired for the finishedarticle with the thickened areas more closely compressed than theremaining portions, then equally needling all the fibers thus confinedand unequally compressed by oppositely directed piercing passes ofhooked needles into a tenaciously cohering interlaced unitary structurewhich will maintain the desired varied density and shape of the formwhen removed therefrom.

H. WATERS.

